Chaguanas is celebrating its Indigenous heritage with the unveiling of a new Amerindian statue at Saith Park.
The monument, named Guaima after a historic Indigenous chief, is expected to spark interest in the Borough’s First Peoples’ history and legacy.
A traditional smoke ritual preceded the formal Amerindian Statue Dubbing Ceremony on Tuesday.
Grand Chief Eric Lewis explained the significance of the name bestowed upon the golden statue.
“So in 1530, chiefs were still fighting. Indigenous leaders were still fighting, and amongst one of the great indigenous fighters was Chief Guaima, and we chose that name through ceremonial practices, and you know, a little bit of prayer and devotion, to find out which chief would be most suited for Chaguanas.”
For Chaguanas Mayor Faaiq Mohammed, the moment held great significance for the Borough, which is set to attain City status.
“You know, we have two cities within the country, and both have colonial names from the past, Port of Spain, San Fernando, but we will be the first city that has a name bearing an indigenous name, from an indigenous tribe.”
He said Chaguanas’ history is now better reflected in the Borough’s revamped logo.
“I was taking a look at our logo, and I wanted to make our logo have a little more meaning towards it, and you can’t be named Chaguanas, and our logo had no symbolism of our Indigenous past. So, I sat down with my Council, and we came up with a logo that, you know, takes everything into consideration: our past, our present.”
Grand Chief Lewis hopes the statue will pique the interest of Chaguanas residents and spark conversations about Indigenous peoples, noting that Chaguanas was once an Indigenous capital.